Of Light and Darkness
by AveryBookNerd
Summary: The twins were born of light and darkness. One was born to kill the other, or be killed. But they didn't know any of that at the time. For one shining moment, they could just be Alexander and Selene, the twin prince and princess of Byzantium. The two with amazing powers, and an even stronger bond to go with it. Learn Selene's story before meeting Star. Prequel to Our Fairytale.


Of Light and Darkness

 **Avery:** Hello my friends! I honestly didn't think that I would ever get this done, but I did (yay!) I am exhausted because this took days to write and hours to edit. But it is here and it is posted! The prequel to Our Fairytale has finally arrived and I am proud of this one shot. This is about Selene and Alexander Helios and their lives leading up to meeting Star in Our Fairytale. I hope that you enjoy!

* * *

 _A long time ago, the galaxy was populated by angels and demons._

 _The angels controlled the light, the demons controlled the darkness._

 _The two sides once lived together in peace and prosperity._

 _But this changed when the two sides grew hungry for power, and war broke out._

 _They fought for centuries over which side was the most powerful._

 _Only for their two races to be completely wiped out, save for one angel and one demon._

 _In their dying breaths, they gave the powers of light and dark to two children of the galaxy, so that they may live on forever._

 _And every generation, two new holders of light and dark were selected._

 _However, this power was not a gift,_

 _The bearer of light would be reckless and unstable, constantly feeling the hunger the angels had for power._

 _And the bearer of darkness would be inquisitive, yet easily manipulated, and constantly crave the demon's desire for control._

 _Given the proper training, the pair could lead the universe to peace and restoration,_

 _Or aid in its destruction._

* * *

There was once a kingdom in a far away land. A kingdom called Byzantium. A kingdom that was known to be The Kingdom of Sun and Light. It's citizens were peaceful people, known to be philosophers and inventors, artists and visionaries. The kingdom was renowned and celebrated for it's beauty and splendor, and scholars from across the universe would come to study in it's libraries. The kingdom was thought to be a place of good fortune, that all who visited would be gifted with wisdom and enlightenment. One day, in this beautiful kingdom, the sky turned red. A brilliant shade of ruby that caused the citizens to look up in wonder. And then, very abruptly, the bright day turned into pitch black night. The citizens panicked, running through the streets screaming, wondering what had happened to this beautiful summer day. However, a few minutes later, the darkness vanished, and the citizens were relieved to find that light had been restored once again. The darkness was a mystery to them, but not to her. It was in this darkness that she was born, brought into the world as the light turned to darkness.

Selene was the second born. Seven minutes behind her brother. Seven minutes too late to earn the title of the heir apparent. Seven minutes too late to be queen. Many thought it was a shame, Selene would have made a fine queen. She was level-headed and kind, which clashed with her brother's brash, outspoken, and often impulsive nature. Many Byzantine citizens worried about their next king, whether he would be a fair ruler or not. Some citizens hated to admit it, but they often wished that something dreadful would happen so that Selene would become the queen.

However, Selene was completely unfazed by the fact that she would never be crowned queen. Despite losing the title of the next ruler of Byzantium by a few measly minutes she and her brother, Alexander Helios, were the best of friends. The two of them were always together, they laughed together and played together in the castle gardens. Many had observed that the only times that Alexander had smiled were when he was with Selene. Many who had met the twins separately had said that they were so much different together, that they brought out the best in one another. But behind the smiles, there was a secret between the twins. A secret only talked about in hushed whispers and behind closed doors.

They were fourteen when it happened for the first time. The twins were studying in the library. While the two attended a regular school for aristocratic children, they also had specific tutors that would teach them outside of regular school hours. While Alexander had chosen to study politics and prepare for his future as a king, Selene had been fascinated by languages. She wanted to know all about linguistics, where and how language came to be. By the age of fourteen, she was fluent in Gort, her mother's maiden language, and was planning on learning at least three more alien languages. The two had been reading quietly, alone in their own little bubbles. Selene was struggling to translate one of her favourite proverbs when Alexander's voice broke their silence.

"In the eighteenth century, King Theodosius of Byzantium made it mandatory for monster children-" The words were monotonous as usual.

"Could you read quietly?" Selene asked politely.

Alexander raised an eyebrow at her.

"I didn't say anything." He replied, going back to his book.

Selene was stunned. She couldn't have mistaken his voice, she could have sworn he had said something. She watched Alexander flip the dull yellow page of the Byzantine history book and watched as he continued reading, his eyes narrowed in a pensive stare as he continued to read. And there it was again. She could hear his voice as though he was reading from the pages of the book, but his lips weren't moving, no sound had come out. How was that even possible? Was she going insane? Why was she hearing her brother's voice in her head. She was crazy. She had to be. Maybe if she ignored it, it would go away. But as hard as Selene fought to keep her eyes on the leather-bound book of proverbs, she couldn't shake Alexander's voice. There had to be something wrong with her. Unless… Selene looked at her brother again, her heartrate had increased dramatically and her breath felt shallow. There was no way. Slowly, Selene began to repeat the words as she heard them, her voice filling the empty air.

"King Theodosius made it mandatory for monster children to attend residential schools in order to assimilate them into civilized society." Her voice was unsteady, but she continued to speak as the words formed in her head. "While the schools were said to be a save haven to rehabilitate the youngsters, they were known to be very abusive and many young monsters died of-"

The words stopped there. Alexander looked up at his sister once again, his eyes wide.

 _Is she reading my book?_ The young prince thought.

"No." Selene replied in astonishment. "I'm not."

Alexander dropped his book, the tiniest gasp escaping his lips. He looked at his sister, then at his forgotten book, then back at his sister. His eyes were filled with alarm, he seemed a bit uneasy and his face was slowly turning white. She was getting worried for him.

"Alex?" Selene whispered, she slowly reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"What am I thinking of right now?" He asked so quickly that his words sounded like a jumble of incoherent noise.

 _Say "red" if this is real._

Selene took a deep breath and spoke slowly. "Red."

Alexander leant back in his seat, his mind suddenly becoming a mess of thoughts and he couldn't quite make sense of what was going on. His sister had just read his mind. But how? He had heard of twins that had some sort of psychic link, but that couldn't be happening with him and Selene. If it was, he would have been able to read her mind as well.

It was then that a knock on the door interrupted their silence.

"You may enter." They both called absentmindedly.

One of the housekeepers, a short lady with a sweet smile, opened the door and greeted the twins with a respectful bow.

"Dinner has been prepared," She informed them. "You two are requested in the dining hall."

 _I am so tired. I wish I had a coffee._

Selene froze, that was the housekeeper's voice. She could hear her thoughts as well. How peculiar. Selene slowly pushed back her seat, which let out a painful screech as it skidded across the floor. Selene stood, suddenly feeling unsteady as a violent pain shot through her head. Her hands flung to either side of her head, everything hurt so much that she could barely move. She heard the concerned thoughts of her brother as he put his arm around her and gently guided her out of the library.

 _It's okay._ _Just breathe._

The smell of freshly cut flowers greeted the twins when they entered the dining room. The flowers sat in a glass vase in the middle of the long table, a bright pop of colour in the otherwise monochrome room. The rest of the furniture was shades of white and grey, but the flowers made the room look more lively. The golden glow of the early evening sun shone through the large windows, leaving the room feeling warm and comfortable. King Constantine and Queen Octavia had already taken their seats, they seemed to be engrossed in some conversation that neither twin could care about in that moment.

"Can you hear them too?" Alexander whispered as they took their seats.

Selene looked at her parents and listened quietly. Her father was thinking about an upcoming banquet and her mother was thinking about dinner, apparently, she hadn't eaten all day.

"I can." Selene whispered.

The servers slowly came around, one of them set down the metal forks and knives while another began laying down their plates. But Selene couldn't focus on the food being laid in front of her, all she could do was listen as a sea of voices overwhelmed her brain. She couldn't hear just one person's thought process, she could hear everyone's. The voices all tangled together and she couldn't figure out who was thinking what. One server was thinking about drinking the vodka they had hid under the sink, another convincing himself not to quit. Her eyes travelled across the room, observing each server until finally landing on the young man serving drinks. He hadn't been working at the castle long, a few weeks maybe. There was something in the way he walked, some type of stagger in his step. Almost as though he was uneasy. What was going on?

Selene focused on him, narrowing her eyes in concentration.

 _Which one was it?_

The young man took one of the drinks off the tray and sniffed it.

 _The poison smells like almonds._

What?

Selene watched as the young man shook his head.

 _Not it._

He placed the drink in front of the Queen. Then, as discreetly as possible, sniffed the second cup.

 _Perfect._

Selene watched in horror as the server placed the cup down in front of her father. The King smiled kindly at the server and took the goblet in his hands. Selene was frozen. She didn't know what to do. The world seemed to move in slow motion as the King lifted the goblet towards his lips. Her father's drink had been poisoned and he was about to-

"Stop!" Selene yelled urgently, quickly finding her voice.

The King froze and placed the cup back on the table. Selene quickly snatched the goblet from him, watching as the young server flinched anxiously. The young princess peered into the goblet, she could vaguely see the residue of powder around the edges of the cup, meaning the poison hadn't completely dissolved. Then she took a sniff. Yup. Almonds.

"What's wrong, darling?" The King inquired, his face contorted in concern.

Selene looked up at her father, and then at the stuttering server.

"Poison smells like almonds." She replied.

Immediately the room became silent. But to Selene, it erupted with noise, noise that only she could hear.

 _Poison?_

 _How did she know?_

These thoughts and many others buzzed in Selene's ears, but she could only look at the horrified server. The young man quickly dropped his tray, which clattered to the ground with a crash, before attempted to make a run for it. The young server hardly made it out of the dining hall before he was apprehended by the palace guards.

Selene was breathing heavily in the aftermath of the incident. Everything felt so surreal. She had just saved her father from ingesting poison, and now everyone in the dining hall was watching her. It all began to overwhelm her, suddenly it became harder and harder to breathe.

"Selene, what's going on?" Queen Octavia asked, her voice sounding panicked.

Selene couldn't speak, she couldn't breathe. So Alexander explained to them what had happened in the library, slowly rubbing his sister's back as he did so. Afterwards, King Constantine requested a magic tutor be hired to help Selene learn to use her ability.

Selene could tell that her brother was jealous about her new abilities without ever having to read his mind. She felt bad that he hadn't inherited any powers. She had also realized her twin becoming more distant. While the two had always done everything together, they had to do things separately since Selene started training with her tutor. It bothered her, she had to admit. It was like being without your best friend. Nobody had ever seen the twins more depressed than when they were separated.

That was until, of course, Alexander developed an ability of his own. The ability to control fire.

Nobody was nearly as excited as they had been when Selene got powers. In fact, they seemed to almost fear the young prince, as his power turned out to be a destructive force. But Selene was overjoyed. The twins didn't care what other people thought of their powers, they were together and happy again.

* * *

 _The spirits of the angel and the demon rested dormant inside the two children until adolescence._

 _At which point, the spirits of the angel and demon would overtake the bodies of the two children._

 _They were still restless, angry, spirits._

 _Still ravenous for power._

 _Still at war._

* * *

It took less time for Selene to learn to control her mind reading ability than for Alexander to master his. It was six months after the power first appeared, and Selene could pick and choose whose thoughts she heard. She didn't really use her powers often, not as often as Alexander used his at the least. Even if Selene didn't need her magic tutor's help anymore, she still enjoyed sitting in on her brother's sessions. She figured that if she learned his power as well as her own, then she could help him control it when the tutor wasn't around. Her mother already had to replace most of Alexander's belongings, as the boy had been prone to accidental combustion since discovering his powers. Selene could tell that her brother was becoming more agitated and impatient when it came to controlling his ability, but his was so much more complex than her's, and it would take longer to master. She tried to help him, but she could feel him beginning to push her back a bit.

She didn't like the fact that her brother had begun to distance himself from her. She had tried to figure out why many times, but every time she tried his thoughts were incoherent. It was as though she couldn't read his mind anymore, and that worried her even more.

A few months after her fifteenth birthday, Selene was playing cards with her friend in the parlour. While she and Alexander were very sociable, they really had only one friend. The young daughter of a Nobleman, Lady Emma Schwanstein. She was one of the first people that Selene told about her special ability, after the dinner incident. If she was being honest, she was terrified of how Emma would react at first, but once she saw the young girl's smile she knew that everything was going to be alright. Emma put down two cards on the table.

"Two queens." She stated as she laid the cards face down.

"Cheat." Selene accused.

"You're the cheater." Emma grumbled, turning the cards over to reveal a two and a five.

Emma begrudgingly took the pile of cards.

"Why do I play this game with you?" The young Lady wondered aloud.

"Because you love me?" Selene replied with a wink.

"Ha, you wish!" Emma retorted.

 _I love you, too_. Emma's thoughts rang in Selene's ears.

The door to the parlour opened with a creak, revealing Alexander. He looked tired, his pale skin flushed red, and his golden eyes were sunken. He looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"Selene, have you seen my linguistics textbook?" He asked, his voice almost slurred.

"I haven't," She replied, eyes narrowed in concern. "Alex, are you alright?"

Alexander didn't answer, he simply gave her a small nod and left, closing the door behind him. Selene turned back to Emma, whose eyes were wide with fear. Selene could tell that she was worried, if her thoughts were not enough her face gave it all away. The way that Emma looked at him, the things she thought. It was obvious to most people that there was something between the two of them, but only Selene knew what was happening exactly. Emma was going to be queen one day, but nobody else knew that fact yet.

"Is he alright?" Emma finally asked, her voice meek.

"I don't know." Selene sputtered in reply.

Emma's widened at that. "You don't?"

Selene shook her head. She hadn't known anything that was going on with her brother. She wished she did, but he had been so distant and distracted.

"But," Emma stuttered a bit. "Can't you hear his thoughts?"

No. No, she couldn't. His thoughts were blank to her. There was nothing there and she had no idea what was happening with her powers. She suddenly felt too hot in that parlour, the room was too small, too claustrophobic. She felt as though she couldn't breathe. Selene stood up abruptly, knocking over the chair she had been sitting on in the process. Emma opened her mouth to say something, but Selene had already bolted from the room, she vaguely recalled saying something along the lines of "Excuse me for a moment."

Selene slammed the parlour room door behind her as she left, running down the hall towards Alexander's quarters. She approached the large double doors to her brother's room and didn't even knock before she flung them open with a bang. She noticed her brother jump in his seat at his desk, the linguistics textbook he had been looking for open to a bookmarked page.

"What is wrong?" Selene barked before giving her brother a chance to speak.

"Nothing." The Prince mumbled, closing his eyes for a moment before mentally slapping himself awake. "I'm fine."

He didn't sound confident in his words, he looked as though he were about to pass out.

"Liar." Selene accused. Even without the ability to read minds, she could tell that Alex wasn't fine.

Alexander glared at her, the fire in his eyes growing into a burning inferno.

"I think you know what the problem is." Alexander snapped. "I think you know and you just want me to admit it, don't you? So you can, I don't know, brag about it to everyone we know."

Selene tilted her head in confusion.

"What?" She asked.

Alexander grew angrier, his face becoming redder than fire. He could feel the flames in his blood growing hotter. He had to force himself to breathe, he couldn't risk setting the castle on fire.

"Selene," He breathed. "Please just leave me alone, please don't read my mind."

Selene bit her tongue in order to hold back tears. She couldn't cry right now. She wouldn't cry in front of him but she felt completely heartbroken. Something was wrong, she had done something wrong and the worst part was, she didn't even know what she did. She had no idea how to fix it. She didn't know what she did to her brother, to her own twin, and that was terrifying. Did he hate her?

"I can't." Selene choked. "I can't read your damn mind."

The creases in Alexander's face immediately vanished.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"I can't read your mind!" She couldn't hold it back any longer, she was screaming. "I have no idea what you're thinking. You're completely closed off and it is terrifying to me because I obviously did something to hurt you and I don't know how I'm supposed to fix it."

Alexander stood up from his desk and slowly walked towards his sister. Selene was shaking uncontrollably; her breathing was heavy as she fought back the tears that threatened to fall.

"I'm sorry for whatever I did," She choked. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Alexander pulled his sister towards him and hugged her tightly, her face pressed against his chest. And there Selene broke, the tears that had been pooling in her eyes finally falling down her cheeks, and once they started they wouldn't stop raining down. Alexander sighed as his sister shook violently in his arms, her tears beginning to soak through his dress shirt.

"I'm sorry." He finally whispered. "I assumed that you knew."

"I haven't been able to read you lately," Her voice came out muffled by his shirt. "I'm not sure why."

Alexander sighed, finally ready to admit what he knew everybody was thinking.

"You're phenomenal, Selene," Alexander told her. "Everything about you is extraordinary, everyone thinks so. You're kind and intelligent, and you're extremely talented and powerful."

Alexander paused and let go of his sister, gently wiping away her tears.

"You have an amazing power, Selene," He continued. "And you are so good at controlling it already, I'm the one who nearly burns down the castle every time I use my powers. All of that, on top of the fact that everyone wants you to be the queen, it just bothered me. I'm sorry that I've been ignoring you. But everything was too much."

"I didn't mean to make you feel that way." Selene reminded him. "Even if it was unintentional. And, Alex, you're going to make a great king one day, I know it. You won't be alone, you have so many supporters, you have Emma, and you'll always have me."

Alexander smiled at her, happy that the issue with his sister was resolved.

"I think I scared Emma when I ran off in the middle of our game." Selene smirked, turning to leave the room. She looked back at her smiling brother as she reached the door. "Would you like to join us?"

She knew before he even said anything that the answer was yes.

* * *

 _The demon was always the one to awaken first,_

 _Hoping to find and eliminate the angel before their powers came into fruition._

 _But the angel was always one step ahead of the demon,_

 _The angel let the demon come out first so that he may find and eradicate the demon before its powers become too strong._

 _However, the angel found that sometimes, it was best to do nothing._

 _Afterall, the demon's spirit was self-destructive._

 _It would simply be easier to let the demon destroy itself._

* * *

She was sixteen, it was the first full moon of the new year, and something exceedingly peculiar happened. Selene had been tossing and turning in her bed. Even though she was so tired, she couldn't sleep, and she didn't want to. Every time she closed her eyes, all she saw was blood. Blood and bodies, lying motionless, dismembered in horrifying ways. The iron stench of their blood made her feel sick. Everything was so vivid and real that it made her nauseous. She was convinced that it wasn't a dream, it was too intense. The room was completely dark, save for the dull light of the full moon streaming through the window. The princess closed her eyes and tried to sleep, tried to banish the image of blood from her mind. Maybe they would go away. Selene allowed her body to relax completely, hoping that she could drift off somehow. It was working, until she felt something that made her entire body go stiff.

There was something beside her bed.

The princess opened her eyes cautiously, but she couldn't see anything, but she knew that it was there.

"Hello?" She whispered to the empty room.

Suddenly she was pushed down by an unbelievably strong force. Selene tried to scream, but nothing came out of her mouth. She tried so hard to scream as she thrashed in the grip of the invisible creature. She felt wet, hot tears streaming down her face. She was going to die, she was certain of it.

Then her eyes rolled back in her head. And the thrashing stopped. Selene couldn't move, her body was paralyzed. And then she blacked out.

And there was Alexander. He was riding his horse alone in the forest. Selene called out to him, but he couldn't hear her. She recognized this part of the forest, it was one of their favourite riding trails. She could smell the evergreen trees and the grass, and hear birds in the trees, and feel the sun on her face. Just like the images of bodies, this felt so real. Then the horse jumped, as though it had gotten spooked, knocking Alexander off his back before galloping off. Alexander hit the ground with a sickening crack, and he wasn't getting up. Selene gasped. She tried to call out to him, tried to run to him, but she was frozen. Selene could only watch in horror as her brother lay motionless on the ground. Then black spots began to cloud her vision, and she was alone in the dark.

"Wouldn't this be a shame?" A creepy, almost demonic voice asked.

"Who are you?" Selene called.

"You can prevent this," The voice told her. "He's asleep right now, how easy it would be to wring his fragile little neck."

Selene was astonished and afraid. She could feel the tears beginning to well up in her eyes and she could hear the echo of her heartbeat in her eardrums. She would never. Why would someone even suggest-

"I can't kill him!" Selene exclaimed, tears streaming down her face.

"He's going to die anyways." The creepy voice whispered, Selene swore she could feel cold breath on the back of her neck.

Selene looked behind her, but there was nobody.

"Who are you? Why are you hiding?" Selene questioned. Nothing. The princess grew livid. "Show yourself, coward!"

Nothing. Selene could hardly feel the presence anymore. But she knew that it was still there.

"If you don't," The voice was low. "There will be consequences."

"No," Selene replied with determination in her voice. "I can stop this."

Selene woke up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily as though there wasn't enough oxygen in the room. She was bathed in the glow of sunrise, the sun was still low in the sky but it immersed the room in its soft glow. She felt drowsy for a second, but then she bolted upright in her bed, suddenly fully awake. She had to find Alexander. Selene threw the covers off of her and jumped out of bed, running down the hallway to her brother's room. She didn't even bother knocking, she threw open the door.

"Alexander?" She called.

The room was empty. Selene felt her heart sink as she ran down the stairs to the dining hall.

"Alexander?" She tried again.

"He went for an early morning ride, My Lady." One of the housekeepers replied, carrying a basket of laundry on her hip.

Oh no. Selene ran to her father's study, even though she knew he had a meeting with his advisors. She needed to save Alexander. She couldn't let him die.

"Papa, papa!" She yelled in panic, throwing open the door to her father's study.

King Constantine wasn't an intimidating man in any way, but he looked terrifying in that moment. The King quickly apologized to his advisors before turning to his daughter, his face turning red.

"Selene," He scolded. "I'm busy, you know you're not supposed to-"

"Alexander is in trouble." She interrupted. "Please, I know where he is, we have to save him."

King Constantine sent two guards to look for the young prince, and sure enough, they returned shortly with the unconscious prince. The palace doctor reported that he had suffered a concussion and would make a full recovery. Selene was more relieved than anyone else. Alexander could have died.

"How did you know?"

The twins were alone in the infirmary. Selene had been adamant on staying by her brother's side until he woken up. He knew that she was the one who told the guards where he was. She had known that he was in trouble. Selene didn't know how to answer his question. What was she supposed to tell him? That some invisible entity had told her to kill him?

"I got worried." She fibbed.

"Liar." Alexander accused.

"Am not!" Selene shot back.

"Your eyes turn green when you lie." Alexander pointed out.

 _Stupid colour changing eyes._ She thought. Well, she didn't need to tell him the whole story, she just had to tell him part of it. Preferably without the part about a low, demonic, voice instructing her to slit her brother's throat.

"I saw it." Selene said slowly. "In a vision."

Alexander's eyes widened.

"You mean," He paused. "Like clairvoyance?"

"I don't know," Selene replied. "This has never happened before."

Suddenly, a sharp pain travelled through her body, causing the princess to tense up. She could see the alarm on her brother's face, she could see his lips moving, but she couldn't hear anything he was saying. Her vision began getting blurry and she could smell blood again. The girl wiped her nose only to find that she was bleeding. Her entire body began to spasm painfully, she felt like throwing up. And then, just as quickly as it started, it stopped.

"-lene! Selene!" Her brother came back into focus, she could hear him again. "Are you okay?"

The voice's words slowly came back to her. Disobey, and you will suffer. This was her punishment.

Selene's eyes were wet with tears. She was terrified. "I don't know."

* * *

 _No matter who the two spirits chose, the one with the angel spirit had more power._

 _The demon spirit was always envious of the angel._

 _And the only way to get that power, was to destroy the angel._

* * *

The visions happened every month, during the night of the full moon. Selene mostly kept them to herself, only telling Alexander if they were necessary. And every month the demon would return, tempting Selene to kill, and punishing her when she didn't. Sometimes the visions were harmless, while others were graphic and scarring. The longer the visions went on, the more horrifying the aftermath was.

By the time she was seventeen, the consequences were gruesome. One morning, she fainted in the dining hall and suffered a seizure. Queen Octavia had made her get tested for epilepsy. While they were relieved when the tests came up negative, the King and Queen couldn't figure out what caused Selene's seizure. Alexander had suggested that they tell their parents the truth, but Selene wasn't ready. She hadn't even told Alexander about the demon, or the threats. She knew that she was a monster, she didn't want her family to think so too.

* * *

 _The demon worked to corrupt the host child._

 _Threatening it with terrifying visions and torturing it._

 _The child would be tormented until either it did the demon's bidding,_

 _Or begged for death._

 _And when the child begged for death, well…_

 _Let's just say the demon delivered._

* * *

She's eighteen when the vision consists of a blonde girl. The girl looks to be her age, but much shorter than Selene, and her cheeks are decorated with tiny pink hearts. The girl seems so happy and carefree with a wide smile plastered on her face. But then the vision changes, the image morphs and swims before becoming something sinister. The girl is no longer smiling. She's screaming, like something is hurting her. And then Selene woke up. She doesn't know who the young lady is, but she knows that she needs to find her and help her.

Selene doesn't get up right away. She knows exactly what's coming, and she doesn't exactly want an audience when it happens. This time her entire body burns, like she is completely engulfed in flames. She tries her best not to scream, but the pain is so intense, it's like her skin is trying to tear itself off her body. The familiar spasms begin and her eyes roll to the back of her head. She can't see anything, she can only hear footsteps approaching her door. What was she going to do? She couldn't let anyone see her like this.

"Selene?" It was Alexander, checking in on her.

He rushed to her bedside. He wanted nothing more than to take her pain away, but he knew that he couldn't. All he could do was try to soothe her pain.

"Can you hear me? Selene?" But she couldn't hear him, she was too far gone.

Alexander waited until the shaking stopped, and his sister sat up in her bed. Alexander sighed in relief. But his relief was short lived when he looked into his sister's eyes. He knew that her eyes changed colour, but he had never seen this before. Selene's eyes usually settled on one colour, but they kept changing. Blue one second, grey the next, then to black. She looked at him, as though she were in a trance.

"I see you." She whispered ominously.

"Selene? What's happening?" Alexander had never been so terrified in his life.

"When one king has died, another shall rise," Selene's voice sounded almost robotic in her trance. "A new kingdom built on treachery and lies. A new hope will grow in Ophelia's tears, but the story will end the same way as Hamlet and Lear's. Then the stars will fall from the sky, and there we say our final goodbye. Maiden with a heart as pure as gold, and eyes the colour of aquamarine. We must prepare to make way for the queen."

Alexander watched as his sister's body went limp. He touched her forehead gently, she was definitely running a fever. Quickly, he ran to get her a glass of water. He forced the groggy Selene to sit up in her bed, her eyes slowly fluttering open, as he raised the glass to her lips. Selene took a few gulps of the water before coughing, as though she were choking.

"What happened?" She mumbled.

Alexander stayed silent, leaving the young princess to wonder what had caused her brother's confused expression. She could hear the thoughts jumping around in his mind, they were almost incoherent. For a moment, she worried that she might have done something. That they, or it- she wasn't quite sure, had done something to hurt Alexander. She gently raised her hand to cup his cheek, only for her brother to flinch. The girl quickly retrieved her hand. Maybe she really had done something to him.

"What was?" She finally heard Alexander mumble.

He sounded completely flabbergasted, but his eyes were filled with so much concern. Selene knew that her brother worried for her, but she had never seen him like this. It terrified her. What did she do? Had she unintentionally hurt him again?

"Alex," Selene tried to stay calm. "What did I do?"

"You said…" Alexander trailed off in disbelief. "What did you see?"

He was talking about the vision. The one that had caused her to black out. The one about her.

"A girl," Selene replied, recalling the blurry vision of a pretty girl with heart-shaped marks on her cheeks. "She was there, she was screaming. She looked… sad. A-and terrified, like something horrible had happened to her."

"What did she look like?" Alexander asked, slowly rubbing his sister's back in comforting circles.

"She was… blonde," Selene replied, slowly recalling the girl's distorted face. She wished that she could remember all of the girl's features, but she couldn't. "She had blue eyes and little hearts on her cheeks. I didn't recognize her. I have no idea who she could have been."

Alexander's expression hardened.

"Did she seem dangerous?" He sounded so serious, yet so concerned at the same time.

"No," Selene shook her head. "It looked like there was something attacking her."

Alexander let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. At least his sister was safe, there was no one trying to hurt her. Alexander stood up from Selene's bed and offered her his hand.

"We should get you something to eat." He recommended. "Unless you'd like to lie down for a bit, I could bring you something."

But Selene shook her head and accepted her brother's hand. She didn't want to lie down, she didn't want to risk the pain returning, the horrifying visions, the blood. It made her tremble with fear just to think about it. Selene tried to smile, she tried her best to reassure her brother that she was going to be okay. But if she was being honest, she wasn't sure if she was going to be okay. There were more visions, more things that went bump in the night, more things that she could not control. The worst part was the voice, the one that belonged to an entity that wasn't her own. It wanted her to do things, wanted her to commit terrifying acts. She was ashamed, but there were many times when she had considered wringing her own brother's neck. Times where she lusted after royal blood, to taste it on her tongue, and it terrified her. She didn't want to want these things. She just wished that every terrible thought would go away. But they didn't, no matter how hard she tried. Something inside of her wanted blood, it wanted to kill, and she hated it.

Something was terribly wrong with her, but she didn't want to let on that there was. So she smiled as she walked towards the dining hall, looking almost like a ghost in her white nightgown. When she and Alexander took their seats at the breakfast table, their parents were already there, expectant looks on their faces. Selene knew without ever needing to read their minds that they had something to say. Alexander looked curiously at his sister before slowly taking a seat at the table. He looked at his father, and then at his mother, neither of them smiled. He silently wondered if he had done something to anger them.

"I have an announcement to make." King Constantine said, his voice deep and booming. He paused for a brief moment before letting out a small breath. "I have gotten word that, sadly, King River of Mewni has died of a venomous snake bite."

Selene studied her father's face and then her mother's. They hadn't looked distraught, just blank. They hadn't really known the King of Mewni, they had only kept in good relations with the kingdom, mostly for trade purposes.

"And so, after hearing of this tragedy," King Constantine continued. "We thought it would be best to do all that we can to aid the Kingdom of Mewni in their hard times, as they are our closest allies."

This was going somewhere, and Selene knew that neither she nor Alexander would like it.

"And so, we have spoken with Queen Moon and come up with an arrangement," The King looked at Alexander with a soft glare, as if he were apologizing. "While Queen Moon has elected not to step down from her position of Queen, the Princess Star Butterfly is the heir, and therefore will need a husband to rule alongside her when she takes over."

Alexander's eyes widened, finally figuring out exactly where this conversation was going. His skin began to heat up, the fire in his veins causing his blood to boil. Selene tried to calm him by placing her hand on his, but his skin was so hot that she immediately recoiled. Finally, Alexander stood up from his seat, violently slamming his fist down on the table.

"No!" He exclaimed angrily, his narrow eyes glaring daggers at his father. "I will not! I refuse! I will not be forced to marry a girl that I don't know just so that you can keep up a good reputation with this kingdom."

"Alexander, sweetheart, breathe." Queen Octavia's soothing voice rang out through the room.

But Alexander refused to calm down. His own mother's voice had never sounded so much like a death sentence before.

"If you can remember, our marriage was arranged," Octavia continued with a reassuring smile, despite her son's meltdown. "And we're very happy. You might really love your new wife."

Although King Constantine nodded in agreement, Alexander was not convinced.

"I will not be married to a girl I've never even seen." Alexander seethed through gritted teeth. "I will not be a pawn in a political game."

"This is not a negotiation Alexander Helios," Constantine reminded his son, trying to keep up a calm demeanor. "You and Princess Star will be married and that is final."

Alexander glared at his father one final time before storming out of the dining hall, flames beginning to ignite from his fingertips. The King sighed and slumped back in his seat, his wife lovingly rubbing his back with a kind smile on her face. Constantine looked exasperated, he had expected that his son wouldn't take the news well, but this was extreme. Octavia smiled kindly at her daughter, who had been sitting quietly during the encounter with a perplexed look on her face. She gently slid a white envelope across the table towards Selene.

"Perhaps you could talk to him?" Octavia asked, even though Selene knew it was an order and not a question. "There's a picture and information on the princess in this envelope. Maybe if he saw her…"

The Queen trailed off, knowing that it wouldn't make much of a difference. She was still hopeful that maybe Alexander would change his perspective on this marriage. But knowing how stubborn the boy could be, she knew that it was extremely unlikely.

Selene only nodded and left the dining hall to find her brother, a million thoughts suddenly flooding her mind. Why had her parents even considered that this would be a good idea? Why hadn't they consulted Alexander beforehand? What about Emma? Emma would be heartbroken when she found out, even if she and Alexander were never formally dating.

She found her brother in the back garden, where a special training area had been set up just for him. Selene watched as fireballs shot from her brother's hands, hitting a wide range of targets. He fought relentlessly, only wanting more destruction, he didn't care if the training area was in ruins when he was done. Sweat dripped from the young man's brow, but he didn't care to wipe it away. He was furious with his father. He was eighteen years old and his father still controlled everything he did. He could feel the rage building up inside of him, the wave of heat inside him becoming more intense. Then he saw Selene, her reassuring smile suddenly erasing all of the anger inside of him. And all at once, the flames disappeared. There was only smoke and ash in it's place.

Selene approached him cautiously, hoping that she had given her brother enough time to blow off some steam. He eyed the envelope in her hand, looking at it as though it was his death warrant.

"Mom and Dad thought it would somehow make a difference if you saw a photo of her." Selene explained.

Alexander scoffed, he was not so superficial that he would immediately marry a girl based on her looks. He snatched the envelope from Selene and ripped it open before carelessly dumping the contents onto the dirt.

"I know what to do with this." He smiled mischievously, his pointer finger lighting up like a match.

Selene looked down at the contents of the envelope, the one her brother was about to burn. What could she say but, sayonara princess! However, just as the flame ignited on the pieces of crumpled paper, she noticed something curious. A photograph of a smiling blonde girl with kind blue eyes and heart-shaped decals on her cheeks. She looked so baby-faced and innocent, so adorable. This was the face of her brother's intended, and she looked so strikingly familiar. Suddenly, the image flashed in her mind. The blonde girl from her vision.

"Wait!" She yelled, grabbing the photograph and quickly putting out the flame.

Alexander raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"

Selene was astonished. It was her. The same girl who looked so distraught and traumatized in her vision. She looked so normal in the photo, smiling in a blue dress with a jeweled crown proudly sitting atop her head. She looked like a princess. Selene stared at the photo for a while, then looked up at her brother's befuddled face.

"The girl from my vision," Selene replied breathlessly. "That's her."

* * *

 _It was uncommon for hosts to be friends,_

 _After all, they held a thousand years of war within them._

 _While they may never know why they hated each other,_

 _Most of the time they would write it off as human nature._

 _But every few lifetimes,_

 _They encountered two hosts,_

 _Who were the best of friends,_

 _Joined together by powerful forces._

 _Those hosts, the demon found,_

 _Were not easy when convincing them to comply._

" _What a shame,"_

 _That is what the demon thought when he looked at her,_

 _His host was a beautiful girl._

 _It was so sad that she had to die._

* * *

Tonight was the night. Tonight, Selene would meet the young lady who would become her future sister-in-law. She sat alone in a guest room, in an unfamiliar castle, in an unfamiliar kingdom. She slipped into the long black evening gown that had been laid out for her and styled her long hair into a bun at the top of her head. She looked in the mirror, her midnight eyes erratically changing from purple to blue, a telltale sign that she was nervous. She would be meeting the girl from her visions tonight. The girl whose screaming had haunted her dreams. A girl whose blood might be spilled if she didn't approach with caution.

A knock on the door awoke her from her thoughts.

"You may enter." Selene called monotonously.

She turned to see Alexander standing in the doorway. His white hair was pulled back into a ponytail and he was wearing a plain black suit with a red paisley tie. He smiled at her warmly, but Selene could tell that it was forced.

"Hey." He greeted.

"How are you feeling?" She asked. "Are you nervous yet?"

Alexander shook his head. "I have no reason to be."

He was right, although this was the girl he was going to be marrying, it wasn't like he loved her. He didn't even know her. Selene silently wondered if she would ever have love. She didn't know whether or not her parents were secretly planning a wedding for her, but she hoped they weren't. She wanted the chance to know love, to know comfort, and security. She wanted to know what it would be like to hold someone and love them completely unconditionally. She wondered if she deserved to be loved. She had already forced her brother to deal with her problems, especially when it came to her powers. She didn't want to burden a lover as well.

Selene looked into her brother's sunken eyes, he looked distressed.

"Hey," Selene smiled, trying to cheer him up. "It might not be too bad, everyone around the kingdom has said that Princess Star is really nice."

Alexander's expression didn't change. He remained completely stoic.

"Alex?" She asked, a pang of anxiety began to fester within her. Why was her brother being so secretive?

Alexander sighed. "There's something that you need to know."

Alexander told her about the day she had the vision about Star. The day she spoke in weird phrases, as though prophesizing about something terrible to come. Alexander was terrified that something wold happen to Selene. That if she met the Princess, the words that she spoke might come into fruition.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," He explained. "I was so freaked out when you recognized the girl in the photo, I guess I thought that I was protecting you?"

"Alex." Selene breathed, not sure of what else to say. She was in shock and she wasn't quite sure what to make of this information. "You should have told me about this."

Alexander nodded in agreement.

"I thought I was protecting you," He knew it didn't justify his actions, but what else could he say? His eyes suddenly widened in realization. "Selene, there's going to be a full moon tomorrow night."

"I'll be fine." Selene replied.

"But, Sel-" Alexander tried frantically to reason with her.

"Don't worry about me." Selene reassured him, smiling the way she always did.

A knock came at the door, causing the siblings to jump in surprise.

"That's our cue." Selene said, slowly getting up from the plush seat by the boudoir.

As Selene walked down the empty corridors of the castle, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. That there was an entity breathing frigid air down her back. She could feel the cold chill, the icy talons of- something- clawing into her back. She was afraid, more than afraid, terrified. But she didn't want Alexander to worry. She wouldn't let on that something was wrong. She wouldn't, even though she could hear it. Constantly there. Always whispering in her ear.

* * *

 _The time has come, my child._

* * *

 **Avery:** Well, that was a fun time wasn't it? After this the events of Our Fairytale take place, and you know what happens to Selene... So sorry again about that.

I am currently in the progress of re-revising the first chapter of The Mewni School for Royalty, which is the sequel to Our Fairytale. The story will focus on Star and Marco's teenage daughter, named after Princess Selene of Byzantium, and will also focus on the son of King Alexander Helios, Leo. The two will be attending the Mewni School for Royalty together and getting into some fun shenanigans that come with life at a boarding school.

It's been hard to make an outline for The Mewni School for Royalty because I have to figure out what aspects of canon I can use without creating plot holes that conflict with Our Fairytale. When I wrote Our Fairytale, the first episode of SVTFOE had just premiered about two weeks prior and the second episode would air until I was finished the story. Now here's the issue with writing a fanfiction for a show with only one episode to go by, there is not much information on any of the characters or the long-term plot, meaning I had to improvise. I didn't want to use Ludo as the main villain, and since Toffee wasn't a thing yet, Queen Moon became a villain. I love Queen Moon, she is a badass and an amazing mom. But I didn't know that when I was writing Our Fairytale. This also means that I can not reform her because that would be confusing and create unnecessary plot holes. Sorry.

I hope that you liked this little one shot! I'll see you in The Mewni School for Royalty!


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